


Beat the Devil's Tattoo

by LittleDarlingXOX



Series: Collisions in the Dark [3]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Blackmail, Dubious Consent, Dubious Ethics, Emotional Manipulation, M/M, Mentioned Roman Sionis, Past Jason Todd/Tim Drake, Power Dynamics, Power Play, Rape/Non-con Elements, Spies & Secret Agents, black mask - Freeform, collisions in the dark au, collisions in the dark series, double agent, past Ra's al Ghul/Tim Drake
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-28
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2020-12-14 03:55:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21009323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleDarlingXOX/pseuds/LittleDarlingXOX
Summary: A Collisions in the Dark AU, where instead of rescuing Tim from her father, Talia chooses to save Jason’s life, leaving Tim at the mercy, and wrath, of Ra’s al Ghul. Tim eventually wins his freedom, but the price he pays for it? Serving as a double agent for Ra’s, who wants to give Bruce a taste of his own medicine.





	1. Chapter 1

_ The Bowery, Gotham City _

_ December 8, 9:47 pm _

“I have a new job for you.” Ra’s’ voice sounded notoriously smug through his comlink. Tim paused to catch his breath on the next rooftop. 

“Not likely,” said Tim, “Haven’t you heard? Bruce is out of the country on WE business—” 

Ra’s continued over him, “It's has nothing to do with Bruce Wayne.”

No doubt Ra’s had picked up on the loud rattling of his breath through the comlink and Tim just hoped that he thought it was from physical exertion instead of a sudden unquenchable bought of panic that left him feeling ever-so lightheaded and unsteady. 

He made a quick scan into the distance. Despite the fact that he was patrolling alone, he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching him… listening in. Though that someone he thought he was sensing was most likely Ra’s himself. He attempted to shake off the nerves, choosing instead to focus on taking one deep breath after another as he continued with his patrol because he’d be damned if working for Ra’s was going to stop him from doing his real job as Red Robin. 

Ra’s continued on, delivering his next assignment — one that could prove to be the death sentence of his vigilante career if he was found out… but what was new about that? “I’m hiring out your services to a business partner. He wants you to report to him on the Red Hood’s nightly activities around Gotham.” 

Tim’s mouth was dry. He let the car he’d been tailing make a sharp left and slip away into the rush of cars heading onto the Aparo expressway. “Who does?” 

“Why, Black Mask, of course. I told him you’d be just the person to get it for him. After all, you’re one of the few people Jason trusts.”

“I’m not some backstabber-for-hire. I spy for you, no-one else.”

“You are spying for me. Only this time you’re reporting your findings to Black Mask.”

“That wasn’t part of our deal,” said Tim. Despite the pains he took to remain undetected, his family was started to suspect something was amiss. He was playing a dirty game with a limited life expectancy. This assignment might just shorten his time left by half. If that. 

If anyone was going to find him out, it would be Jason. 

Realizing suddenly how incredibly belligerent his statement sounded, he made a quick attempt to dispel the hostile atmosphere. “I don’t think you’ve fully thought about the repercussions if this goes south. What if Roman decides to tell his friends about this little arrangement? Do you really think you can count on his discretion? Because if word got out that there was a spy inside Batman’s organization—”

“Oh, don’t try to hide behind reason, Timothy,” replied Ra’s. “I’ve shared your company for long enough to know what it sounds like when you try to refuse me. Let’s be frank with each other. If you want to say no then just… say it.”

It was another one of Ra’s little traps. Tim had walked into enough of them during his stay with Ra’s to spot them on sight. The aftertaste of those deceptions still lingered in the back of his throat, acidic as bile and choked with the smell of his own fear. 

“I wasn’t—”

“Oh, I’m sure you weren’t. But know this, I have men standing ready to snatch you back to Nanda Parbat if the moment comes when you should even breathe the word ‘no’ in my hearing. Because _ frankly, _ I do so miss having someone to share my bed with and at least this way we can revert to our old routine.”

And there it was, the bait and switch only narrowly avoided. His survival instincts had proved themselves right once again. 

This arrangement was only ever supposed to be a way out. He wondered to himself how even three months later he could still find himself feeling just as trapped in this devil’s bargain as he did on the very first day he’d made it. What he needed to do was get out… the million-dollar question was, _ How _?

“Trust me, Ra’s. I understand.”

* * *

_ Nanda Parbat, Tibet _

_ October 4, 3:28 pm _

The guards marched him back into the main chamber with his arms locked in a vice grip behind his back. He didn’t bother to struggle now, in fact, he’d all together stopped struggling two floors into their ascent from the prison wing. What did it matter anyway? The mission was complete, the attack on New York contained, an achievement Jason had paid for with his life. Tim understood that the first person Ra’s’ suspicious eye would fall on was himself, so he did the last thing within his power, setting the scientist’s family free from their imprisonment below the Demon Head’s compound. In his opinion, it was a fair trade— their freedom at the price of his own. 

The double doors were pulled open and Tim forced his feet to keep moving and carry him towards the chair where Ra’s lounged like a king before his court.

Ra’s motioned at the guards to either side of Tim. They seized him with a hand gripping tight to each of his shoulders and wrists. 

_ So this is how I die _, he thinks, eyes glued to the intricate carpet under his feet. He doesn’t want to look up and see the blade flashing towards him. But despite his fears, it never comes. Before there’s time to register what’s happening, his feet are kicked out from under him, sending him crumpling to the floor like a marionette with its strings cut. 

His head thumped painfully on the carpet.

Ra’s knelt down beside him where he lay stunned on his back. “Did you think I wouldn’t see your hand in all this?” 

Ra’s grabbed him by the arm and planted his knee against Tim’s shoulder, “Or that I’d simply forgive your betrayal because I desire you?“ He pressed down with his full body weight, pinning Tim to the ground. In a horrific moment of clarity, Tim grasped for Ra’s’ leg all the while knowing that he’d never escape the joint lock fast enough.

With efficient and heartless speed Ra’s bent Tim’s arm back across his bended knee. He heard the distinct popping sound of the tendons in his elbow tearing at the hyperextension and the sickening pain of his shoulder dislocating.

He screamed, back arching off the floor. His voice echoed in the large chamber room and bounced off the walls and the unsympathetic ears of the Demon Head’s many servants.

Ra’s lowered himself over Tim’s panting form until his lips were touching his ear. Despite the intimacy of their positions, Ra’s’ voice was detached and cold. “This is the price you pay for loyalty. Tell me later if you still think it was worth it.” 

Tim made a keening noise low in his throat as Ra’s released him. He curled up on his side and pulled his arm protectively against his chest, but the pain was still a heavy throb that radiated through his upper body. He shifted as best he could until he could press his cheek to the cool flagstone floor, trying to focus on its cool touch under his cheek until the pain dulled.

He watched Ra’s’ boots as they walked the length of the hall and disappeared out of view. Within a few minutes, the muted sounds of other footsteps also receded out of earshot and Tim was left alone in the entrance chamber with nothing but the sounds of his own pained breathing and the eerie shriek of wind whistling through the loose seals of the old windows high up along the ceiling. Maybe it was just the cold mountain air seeping in, or his own uncertainty about his future, but the sound chilled him to the bone. It sounded like the ghosts of Ra’s’ many dead enemies were haunting the room, flying around in the rafters. 

He didn’t intend to join them. 

With a pained effort, he planted his feet on the ground and scooted his body along the floor on his back until he reached the side wall of the chamber, where he struggled up into sitting position. The effort of that alone left him breathless and he didn’t look forward to what was to come next. 

He gripped the wrist of his injured arm and straightened out his arm. He took a calming breath before pulling it up at a sharp angle. He thought he heard the sound of it setting back into place within its socket over his own screaming, but couldn’t be sure. Before he had time to consider it further he passed out. 

When he awoke it was to the cool slick touch of the flagstone floor again, smelling of earth and other ancient things. The pain had reduced to a periodic ache that radiated from his shoulder down to his fingers. Still, it was duller and more manageable than it was before.

He pushed himself up until he could sit on his knees. 

“I was beginning to think you’d never wake.” 

Tim spun around. Ra’s was seated at the chair on the dais again, looking bored. 

“I almost had one of the Lazarus Pits readied,” he continued, raising his head off of his planted fist, his elbow resting against the chair arm. 

“Why am I not dead?” Tim asked finally. “After everything I did.”

“Because, Timothy, you still need to learn loyalty.”

“I am loyal,” Tim raised his head, “just not to you.”

Ra’s smiled and the sight was not comforting in the least. “Yes, we’ll have to see about that.”

The blow to his head came out of nowhere and Tim crumpled into unconsciousness once more.


	2. Chapter 2

_ Nanda Parbat, Tibet _

_ October 4, 10:02 pm _

Tim awoke and found himself sprawled out on the dark, damp floor of a dungeon cell. He couldn’t say for sure, but he thought it must have only been a few hours since his reunion with Ra’s in the throne room.

He traced the back of his pounding head gingerly, searching for any sign of a head wound.

_ How funny, _ he thought with grim humor, _ that they would drag me all the way up to the throne room just for Ra’s to throw me back down here again. _It was a waste of effort if you asked him, though nobody was.

Tim pulled his hand back sharply with a hiss. His fingers were slick with what he could only assume was blood. Perhaps he should just count himself lucky that he wasn’t dead already. 

He stood on shaky legs and started to examine his new surroundings as best he could in the oppressive darkness of the cell. Reaching out a hand, he groped the empty air until he found the nearest wall and traced his fingers along the patchy lines of grout. He only found the food left out for him after nearly spilling its contents across the floor.

Tim cursed and crouched down, skimming his hands along the dirty floor until he found the plate with its chunk of bread and cheese and the cup of water. By now his eyes had begun to adjust to the darkness, so he took these items and moved back to the dark oblong shape he assumed was a cot. 

There was a strange sparking noise above his head—like a moth flying repeatedly into a porch light. He’d just lifted his head to examine it further when harsh white light blazed against his eyes.

“_ Fucking _— ” Whatever words Tim might have finished that sentence with were muffled into the fabric of his sheets as he curled into the mattress and shielded his watering eyes.

The guards’ laughter rang in his ears as he blinked away the dark spots from his vision. 

“I’m glad that I’m so amusing to you!” Tim shouted at them. “I’m sure Ra’s will find it equally amusing and not see it as you slacking in your other duties when I tell him on our next meeting.” 

Their laughter slowed but didn’t die out entirely. He could still hear the sound of it in their voices as they talked among themselves and left him to continue their rounds. 

_ When _ , Tim thought, _ more like ‘if’. _ He had no way of knowing if Ra’s had left him down here to rot and the fact that the guards were now confident enough to play tricks on him only confirmed how his position had changed for the worse. He could sense that Ra’s’ guards knew it too and were only waiting for Ra’s himself to confirm how far Tim had fallen. Then Tim’s words would be seen for the hollow threats that they really were.

He had many hours to consider this and more. The drip of melted snow seeping through the corner of the cell’s ceiling counted the seconds like a metronome. _ Plink. Plop. Plink. Plop. _ He made a mental note to find the spot of the leak later and place his cup under it. 

He distracted himself as best he could by cleaning his head wound with a strip of fabric he ripped from his sheets and soaked in water from his drinking cup. Most of the blood had dried into a sensitive scab that he didn’t dare pick at, lest it began to bleed again.

The minutes ticked on, and even though he was afraid he might have a concussion, eventually Tim drifted off into a fitful sleep. 

* * *

He was jerked back to consciousness by the slam of metal against stone. The fluorescent lights were still blazing strongly above his head so he had a clear view of the pair of men standing in his doorway. 

“The Demon Head requests your presence.”

Tim threw his arm across his tired eyes and grunted, “Tell the Demon Head to kindly go fuck himself.”

His only warning was the rustle of fabric as they rushed forward into his room and grabbed him by his ankles, dragging him off his cot. A boot kicked him in the side, knocking him over onto his stomach before his arms were grabbed roughly and bound behind his back. 

He yelled as the guards hauled him off the ground and dragged him from the room, pain shooting through his still recovering shoulder. Tim thrashed and cursed, as he struggled to keep his feet under him as they made fast progress along the many halls of Ra’s’ compound. 

“_ Wait— _ just _ wait _—” Tim panted breathlessly as they stumbled up another narrow staircase that squeezed the guards against his pinned arms and tangled up his feet with their own. He pitched forward, bruising his knees and scraping the skin from his shins against the stone steps. 

One of the guards twisted his hand in Tim’s shirt and tugged him back to his feet. 

They continued on.

After they’d cleared the last staircase they released his arms and shoved him stumbling forward with a hand to the middle of his shoulder blades. He was beginning to think the guards had been told to handle him roughly for this treatment continued every time he slowed to catch his breath or look over his shoulder for a clue as to which direction he should be heading in. 

“If you’d just tell me where we’re going I could—” They’d nearly passed a turn before one of the guards fisted his hand in the collar of Tim’s shirt and used it to yank him roughly to the right.

“This way,” he said helpfully as Tim coughed and sputtered. The other guard snickered behind him. 

It was no use and almost a relief when they finally arrived at the door to Ra’s’ bedroom. 

They entered without knocking. The room was lit with candles and a blazing fire against one wall. Tim resisted the urge to move closer to the fireplace, though the heat it gave off did feel like the greatest luxury after spending many hours in the damp chilly atmosphere of his cell. Ra’s was perched against the windowsill, pouring himself a glass of wine from the antique cut glass decanter at his hip. The foreboding gray mountains jutted into the black sky through the windows that ran the length of the room behind him. So it was nighttime, Tim noted with interest, and with mild unease realized that Ra’s appeared to be drunk. 

“We’ve brought him as you asked, my lord.”

“I hope you weren’t too gentle with him. I sure Timothy can withstand some rough treatment,” Ra’s replied. “You can, can’t you Detective?” 

Tim’s chest worked heavily to draw a steady breath as Ra’s took a long drink from his glass and eyed him with a smile. 

Finally, Ra’s seemed to grow bored and waved off the guards. “Untie him and leave us.” 

The rope fell away from Tim’s wrists and he rubbed the feeling back into his hands, watching Ra’s’ men make their retreat. 

When they were gone, Tim spoke up, summoning what little bravado he had left in him. “Drowning your sorrows?”

Ra’s laughed. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. I’ve had plenty of time to survey the field now that the smoke’s cleared and it doesn’t look all that bad.”

“How’s that?” asked Tim. “Because I seem to remember today ending with multiple people betraying you and your grand plan being snuffed out like a sad little candle.”

“Well, for one thing, I still have you.”

“Not for long I’m sure.”

“Anticipating a rescue party, are we?” Ra’s cooed. “Oh, Detective, you’re smarter than that. We both know it’ll be a few days before they realize you didn’t make a run for it and longer still until they’re ready to mount a rescue attempt.”

Ra’s pushed away from the wall and walked to a side table where a platter of hard cheese and assorted fruit rested. Tim watched his back as he perused his opinions. “Of course, when they do come I’ll put up quite the defensive effort— for much longer than I think they’ll be willing to fight for you. Siege warfare is such a strenuous affair after all and they have lots of other battles that need fighting. And then... you know how the old saying goes… out of sight, out of mind.” 

He snapped off a bunch of grapes and turned back to face Tim.

Tim’s fists curled at his sides. “Wanton drunkenness isn’t a good look on you, Ra’s.”

“Oh, now don’t be a sore loser. I think you’re just angry at yourself for not running when you had the chance.”

Tim’s eyes lowered. He watched the grape Ra’s rolled between his fingers. “I wouldn’t have made it far before you dragged me back.”

“No, you wouldn’t have, but I would’ve loved to see you try all the same. Nothing like the thrill of the chase to get the blood pumping.”

Ra’s popped the grape in his mouth. It crushed between his teeth in a burst of juices. “Still, it does mean we get more quality time together. To _ really _ get to know each other.

_ I already know you more than I care to _ , he thought to himself. _ And with every new piece of me you reveal, the less I grow to like myself. _

“What am I doing here, Ra’s?” His head and shoulders ached something horrible and these frequent battles of wit that they played together drained what little energy he had left. He just wanted to go back to his prison cell and lose himself in unconsciousness. 

“Why, our arrangement of course.”

Tim stared at him. “The deal’s off, I’m pretty sure it died the moment I betrayed you. I can’t be a ‘partner to you in all things’ if I’m locked in a prison cell. And frankly, I don’t care to be.” 

“Oh, is that why you thought I locked you up? Oh no, Detective. That was more of a disciplinary action than any decision to condemn you to life imprisonment. Think of it as a demotion. I still want our partnership to continue, but you’ll have to earn your way back into my trust before I’ll share any sensitive information with you— ”

Tim reached the door in two large strides. He used his already clenched fist as a knocker. “Guards!”

“What are you doing?” Ra’s asked as the door opened and the guards returned, looking in confusion from Tim to Ra’s and back again. 

“I’m going back to my prison cell because I’m not your personal fucking prostitute, Ra’s,” Tim replied. He held out his hands for the guards to bind. “You can take me back down to my cell now.”

“So, I suppose you don’t want to hear about Jason then?”

Bitter anger surged in Tim all at once. He jerked around with a hiss. “You mean the boy that you killed out of petty teenage-level jealousy simply because I cared about him? Why the _ fuck _ would I want to hear about that, huh?”

“Whoever told you he was dead?”

“_ Stop. _Stop toying with me! He was exposed to a lethal dose of anthrax. There’s no way he survived.”

“Oh you’re right about that, but Talia was determined it wouldn’t stay that way. I always told her not to get too attached to her pets, but she never did listen to me.”

“Wha—“ Tim’s hands dropped to his sides. Suddenly his arms felt like overcooked spaghetti instead of muscle and bone.“Are— Are you saying that Jason’s alive?”

“Why should I tell you? Our deal is off,” he eyed him, “isn’t it?”

Tim’s chest felt like it was being constricted, the air slowly being squeezed from his lungs. He tipped his head back and stared unseeing at the ceiling unwilling to believe that even after everything he'd gone through, Ra’s still managed to find strings to pull that forced Tim to dance to his whims like a marionette. He thought he had nothing left to lose and therefore, Ra’s had nothing he could gain. He was wrong.

Tim shook his head, he just needed to keep himself together enough to get through tonight. If he could find out if Jason was alive, it would make it all worth it. With that resolution in mind, he stepped up close to Ra’s, tugged sharply at the older man’s belt buckle releasing the clasp and pulled the leather out through the loops. 

Ra’s hummed, amusement playing on his lips. “What’s this?” 

“I’m renegotiating,” Tim tossed the belt to the floor. “You said to me once that one favor deserves to be repaid with another. So here’s the new deal. If you want me, fine, but in return, you give me a piece of information that I want as payment. Otherwise, you get nothing.”

Ra’s stood close enough to unsettle the hairs at his temples with his every exhale. “Yes, that is one way we could do it. But what gave you the idea that I need your agreement to do anything? If I want it, I can simply _ take _it.” 

Tim tilted his head up and stared him directly in the eyes. “Do we have a deal?”

The silence stretched on for so long that Tim feared he’d lose his nerve before finally Ra’s made up his mind. “Leave us,” he snapped at his men, “and don’t return again until I call for you myself.”

The door shut with a click. Ra’s planted his hand on Tim’s shoulder and shoved hard until he obligingly dropped onto his knees before him. “I’m sure you remember what I taught you on our first night together?”

The knot in Tim’s stomach uncoiled all at once. This was nothing Tim hadn’t already suffered through before. If anything, he was more prepared for it. He could do this, he could.

He unzipped Ra’s’ fly and yanked his pants down around his thighs. There was no underwear to do away with, to no one's surprise. 

Tim eyed Ra’s through his lashes. “After I do this… _ immediately _ after, you’ll tell me what I want to know?”

Ra’s threaded his fingers through his hair and held it in a tight grip. “Yes, now get to work before I change my mind.”

He pulled Tim towards his crotch. Tim’s face was pressed close to Ra’s’ skin, his every inhale breathing in Ra’s’ sweat and singular musk, before Ra’s released the pressure on the back of his head for him to pull back. Tim got to work, pushing his emotions down and away — the way Bruce had taught him to do when detailing with a violent crime scene or while undercover. 

He took Ra’s in his hand, stroking him with a skilled and purposeful movement that Ra’s had taught him himself. It felt like too soon before he was wrapping his lips around Ra’s cock and bobbing forward, rocking back and forth on his knees against the hardwood floor of Ra’s room. Tim knew that the quicker he brought Ra’s over the brink the sooner this would all be over. The noises they made together were filthy to his ears, too wet and sloppy and eager. He worked hard to ignore Ra’s ceaseless rambling from above him, endless words of encouragement that made Tim’s cheeks burn with shame and fury alike.

“Yes, Timothy. Don’t you see? This is where you belong. On your knees before me, serving me—”

Tim was startled when the hand on his head increased its pressure. He was shoved down onto Ra’s cock, felt it at the back of his throat as Ra’s continued to buck up into him. Tim choked around the intrusion and shoved half blindly at Ra’s hip to make it stop.

Ra’s shushed him. “Don’t fight it. You’re stronger than this.”

Tim’s eyes watered and his throat convulsed as he worked to relax his throat and control his panicked breathing. 

It seemed to take forever, but his body eventually adjusted. 

Ra's pumped his hips forward shallowly. “I’m so—” 

Tim was released with a gasp, falling backward onto his elbows, spit trailing from his lips. Ra’s took himself in hand and jerked energetically. Tim turned his cheek away at the last second, catching the trail of Ra’s seed against his cheek and neck. 

Tim’s hand rose to wipe the mess away but was caught fast in Ra’s’ grip. “If you want to know what happened to Jason you’ll leave it where it is.” 

Tim glared and retracted his hand. 

“Good boy,” Ra’s purred. 

“Tell me,” Tim’s voice was raspy. 

Ra’s slipped himself back into his pants, leaving Tim in favor of searching out his forgotten wine glass. “I sent out men to follow Talia’s trail after I discovered her betrayal. The first pictures came back this morning.” 

He flicked through a stack on a table and tossed one carelessly down to him. Tim snatched it up with greedy fingers, unable to believe his eyes.

“He’s alive,” Tim couldn’t keep the smile off his face. Ra’s didn’t fail to notice it. 

“By all means,” he replied. “keep the photo. Soon, it’ll be the only thing that you’ll have left to remember him by.” 

“Oh,” Ra’s continued. “I know it wasn’t part of our deal, but stay for a bit. Take a glass of wine, eat your fill, or just put your feet up. There’s no reason why we have to keep this strictly business.”

Tim pushed himself off the floor, folding the picture of Jason up into a neat little square. He moved to the buffet table and picked up a cloth napkin. “I think I’ll head back to my cell if it’s all the same to you. After all, I’m still your prisoner.”

He wiped his face clean and dropped the soiled napkin on the end of the table.

“You can’t be serious,” Ra’s said as Tim turned and walked back towards the door. “I’m offering you an evening of luxury instead of a night in a cold cell.”

Tim stilled. The door held open before him with the guards standing across the threshold. He half-turned. “I know and I don’t want it. I don’t want any of it.”

Ra’s men looked over Tim’s shoulder at where Ra’s stood behind him, waiting for him to give them their orders. Tim waited too, ready to be escorted back down the numerous floors to a dark lonely room. His wish never came. Instead, Ra’s called out, “Escort him to one of the guest rooms. The door can stay unlocked.”

Now Tim did turn, confusion written plainly on his face, but Ra’s’ face was as unreadable as ever. Before he could ask any of the millions of questions running havoc inside his brain the guards shuffled him out the door. 

All he could think as he was left alone in front of a guest room whose door was free of any locks was, _ What the hell is he playing at now? _

Once again he was alone and in the dark. Perhaps this was a prison cell of another kind entirely, and Tim was beginning to think that all the lockpicks in the world wouldn’t get him out of this one. 


	3. Chapter 3

_ Nanda Parbat, Tibet _

_ October 7, 4:00 pm _

It was late afternoon in the courtyard gardens in Ra’s’ compound and Tim sat on a stone bench under the shade of a rhododendron bush in full bloom. He breathed in the honey-scented air and stared at the small water feature gurgling away in front of him, his thoughts occupied with various plans of escape. Located two stories above the ground floor, Tim was originally drawn to the gardens because of the courtyard walls. They looked easy enough to scale and picking his way down the mountainside seemed far safer than braving the sheer drop from his window to the rocky ledge far below. 

However, Nanda Parbat was nestled in a small valley of the Tanggula mountain range — carob-colored rockfaces ascending around them from all sides. Even if he managed the climb over the courtyard wall unseen, he doubted he’d survive such a journey at that altitude as it would mean climbing free solo, higher, over the nearest ridge and descending down the other side until he could find the Tanggula pass which navigated through the range. 

So instead, Tim sat in the garden and tried not to think about how small and narrow his life had become in such a vast open region as the Tibetan plateau. The irony of it was painful to him — like the universe was playing a sick joke and he was the punch line.

Over the course of a few days, he had developed a routine of irregularity. Each morning he awoke at sunrise and slipped out of his room to find a new area of Ra’s compound to retreat to— the library, the small Buddist temple where some of the recruits performed their morning meditations, and most recently the gardens — intent on being anywhere that Ra’s was not. But there came a point every afternoon where he found that he couldn’t hide no matter how far he wandered and he’d startle at a servant’s hand on his shoulder ready to escort him back to his room to clean up for dinner.

Gravel crunched behind him. _ Too early_, Tim thought and knew it wasn’t a servant coming to get him. He made to stand but too late. Halfway to his feet, an arm snaked around his torso and he found himself pulled into the snare of Ra’s’ embrace, his back held flush against Ra’s’ solid chest. 

Ra’s’ other hand caught him under the chin and pulled his head back until it rested over his shoulder. Tim gasped at the effort of it— his back curving like a bow, hips unwittingly pressing up into Ra’s’ forearm if only to relieve the strain. 

“So this is where you’ve been hiding all day.” Ra’s breathed against the shell of his ear, his mouth so close his teeth almost nipped at his skin with every word he spoke. “I should have guessed after what you asked me last night. The gardens do offer the best views.”

True to the agreement that Tim had negotiated, last night saw them back in Ra’s’ bedroom. He hadn’t intended on ending up back there so soon but a servant had placed a pitcher of Arak on the table during dinner and Tim had steeled his nerves with one too many glasses of the strong cloudy-colored liquid. And before he knew what had happened, they were standing face to face outside of Ra’s’ bedroom door breathing in each other’s anise-scented breaths.

Ra’s chuckled as he stumbled and leaned heavily into his shoulder. “I will have to remember to teach you how to hold you Arak, Detective.” 

_ “ _Where are we?”

“Outside my bedroom.”

_ I should leave_, he remembered thinking to himself. But his brain was sluggish and apparently set on other goals besides his own safety. “No — I meant…” 

Ra’s’ fingers found his hair and carded through it absentmindedly. Tim couldn’t think straight when he did that — not when thinking was already so hard for his alcohol-saturated brain as it was. 

He shoved off of Ra’s’ shoulder and propped himself up against the stone doorway. The effect was a sensation like falling off a two-story building and Tim pressed his shoulders harder against the stones at his back as the world around him twisted and lurched. 

He squeezed his eyes shut and waved a hand vaguely around him, indicating the compound itself. “No, where are we in Tibet?”

There was silence from the older man across from him. When he felt well enough to open his eyes again he found Ra’s staring unrelentingly at him, his eyes a dangerous mixture of hunger and suspicion. 

He wasn’t nearly as drunk as Tim was at the moment. Not after spending the night drinking Arak — his favorite liquor and one that was almost as ancient and unchanging as he was. He’d had many centuries worth of lives to develop a tolerance for it.

It felt like Ra’s was weighing his options in his mind, considering which answer he would give him. Finally, he pushed the door open, letting it swing until it bounced against the wall.

He inclined his head, a smile playing on his lips. “Why don’t you come inside and I’ll tell you?” 

Tim peered into the room. It looked innocent enough but he knew looks could be deceiving. “Is this your way of saying you want to make a trade?”

They hadn’t done that since that first night after Ra’s’ had pulled him from his dungeon cell. He had certainly made offers in the days since then, but Tim had been steadfast in refusing him. 

Ra’s chuckled again and reached for Tim’s elbow, pulling him close. “I’m saying, I’ve been very patient up until this point, but now it’s very clear that I want you and you want answers. Why don’t we go inside by the fire and see if we can come to an arrangement that leaves us both satisfied?”

Despite his better judgment, Tim stepped with him over the threshold. 

“Last night?” Tim’s Adam's apple bobbed against the light cage of Ra’s’ fingers around his throat. Standing there in the garden he tried to recall his scattered memories after the door had closed behind them. 

It was hard to remember, or maybe it was more that Tim didn’t really want to remember. To his sluggish brain, it felt like he was watching a film on a malfunctioning projector from behind his own eyes. He found himself trying to piece together the sights and sounds of disconnected scenes but the plot as a whole was lost to him. 

They’d shared another glass of Arak between them, himself so drunk he didn’t even remember how he made it onto the floor. Ra’s had lit a fire — Tim remembered the heat on his skin and the scratchy, not entirely pleasant, feeling of the carpet under him as Ra’s unbuttoned his pants and tugged them down his legs.

Had they negotiated this? He couldn’t remember saying yes and it seemed much more likely that if Tim had had a say in how they went forward, Ra’s would be the one shedding his clothes, not Tim. 

Ra’s was saying something to him but it sounded far away. He might have dozed without meaning to. The stretch and burn of fingers buried in him startled him back to consciousness and pulled an embarrassing keen out of him before he could stop himself. He arched off the floor like a body resurrected, feeling the sweat soaking into the baby hairs at the back of his neck.

“Wait,” he gasped. He swore a spark from the fireplace must have caught on the carpet, he could feel the fire’s heat radiating around him, threatening to burn him up. But there was nothing there when he tilted his head to check.

He could feel the drag of Ra’s’ fingers as they pulled out and pushed in again.“S-Stop—”

His legs were bent, feet planted firmly on the carpet. Ra’s’ head was buried between his legs, his teeth fastened tight on Tim’s left thigh. He could feel the sharp puncture of them as the muscles in his legs trembled and gave out. 

“You don’t want me to stop,” Ra’s declared. He pulled away only to start up again on his other thigh. 

It hurt more this time. Tim’s dick— which only a moment ago had laid throbbing on his belly, pearlescent at the slit — wilted at the harsh treatment. He reached between his legs and grabbed for Ra’s’ hair — flattened his thighs to the floor in an attempt to get away but there was nowhere to go.

As if to prove his own body’s responses wrong, Ra’s crooked his fingers inside of him and Tim swore, head banging painfully against the carpet as heat surged through him once again. He curled his fingers tightly in Ra’s’ hair and couldn’t stop the way his hips spasmed, torn between pulling away from his teeth and pressed harder onto his fingers. Ra’s’ was right… a part of him liked this. Liked it a lot. And it was quickly drowning out the part of him that objected to how he got that pleasurable feeling as long as it just kept coming. 

He might have come soon after that with Ra’s’ mouth on him but he had no actual memory of it. In fact, he didn’t even remember Ra’s’ answer to his question until he woke up later that night, still on the floor but wrapped in a sheet pulled from Ra’s’ bed. 

_ The Tanggula Mountains near Nagqu prefecture_.

The fire was low in the hearth in front of him but it held enough light to see the cum smeared across his belly and the dark pattern of bruises on his inner thighs as he pulled his body out from underneath Ra’s’ slumbering form. 

Panicked laughter threatened to burst past his lips. It looked like Ra’s had tried to draw him a map with his teeth.

_ Get it together_, he snapped at himself and went to retrieve his clothing from around the room in quick fashion. He pulled them on quietly, more than happy to hide the signs of his shameful pleasure under layers of clothing. 

It wasn’t until he’d slipped into his own room minutes later and yanked the bolt securely across the door that he allowed himself to feel anything. 

_ I just went to bed with Ra’s al Ghul. _ No, he wanted to amend that because there was never really a doubt that he was going to have to have sex with Ra’s eventually. 

It was either choose the when, where, and how it happened or have it forced on him. It had seemed that simple to him at first, but tonight was a stark example of how complex it could actually be. Yes, he’d known what he was getting into when he stepped into that room, but the unpredictable element was Ra’s himself who pressed and maneuvered him like a plaything. Drunk as he was he could do nothing but lay there and ride through the waves of pleasure and pain.

He ran a shaky hand through his tangled hair. _ That can never happen again. _

The only question remaining was how was he going to stop it? 

Now, here he was a day later and already tangled in Ra’s’ arms again, achingly contorted for his pleasure, and no closer to a solution.

Ra’s’ breath was hot where it ghosted his ear. “I don’t intend to let you run back to your room so quickly tonight. If I were you, I’d have at least three questions at the ready.”

The thought of that alone made him quake and he could feel the smile that Ra’s pressed to his trembling neck.


End file.
